Remote work has become extremely popular, as it allows you to be where you need to, while still committing to your work responsibilities. Portugal is one of the best places to work remotely and so, in this article, we’ll be presenting you some of the best places in the country to settle in and work.
You’ve been working remotely for a while now and find yourself becoming more and more overwhelmed by the same 4 walls that surround you every day. You wouldn’t mind a change of set…
If you’re looking for a great place to work on your programming remotely, without being stuck at the house, stay tuned because we are going on a trip to find the best 15 places to work remotely in Portugal, starting on the main Portuguese cities: Lisbon and Oporto, and then moving less crowded places, such as Coimbra, Faro and the islands.
Places to work remotely in Lisbon
Praça do Comércio – Lisbon
Free coworks, luxury coworks and even airbnb’s. Whatever you’re looking for, there’s a huge variety of places to work remotely in the capital of Portugal.
The Mill
Lisbon | Free to use
As expected from the capital of the country, there are lots of places to work remotely in Lisbon!
The Mill, an Australian-Portuguese café, is one of our favourites! Here you’re bound to find many remote workers and developers like yourself. For those who need coffee as fuel and love breakfast, this place is the obvious choice: they have locally sourced and roasted coffee and serve breakfast and brunch all day!
The atmosphere is inviting, the wi-fi is good and there are plenty of outlets all over, should you need them.
Well&Work
Lisbon | Paid workspace
This cowork space has the philosophy that when you feel well, you work well. So, their mission is to provide a great work environment and inspiration for those who choose to set up shop there.
The space is minimalistic, elegant, and well-lit and focuses on providing you everything you need to be focused and comfortable at work, like fast internet, networking spaces, food, music, and even private booths for zoom calls! It is considered one of the best places to work remotely in Lisbon.
The Therapist
Lisbon | Free to use
The Therapist is a coffee shop (no, not a mental health clinic) that belongs to a category of its own. It is one of the most unique places to work remotely in Lisbon, part of the Lx Factory, and many people choose it as a place for studying, freelancing and programming because of the tranquillity and relaxed environment.
Besides serving a variety of healthy foods and drinks, this café also works as an alternative therapies clinic (now you get the name!) and a school, with many courses and workshops.
I Loft Lisboa
Lisbon | Airbnb
Here’s another great place to stay during your travels that offers a great environment, art, and décor. It has a dedicated work desk in front of a gorgeous window where you can settle in and work remotely while soaking in the view for inspiration from time to time. It’s highly recommended for the hospitality, exclusive details, and for being completely equipped. Oh, and the wi-fi is great!
Eli&Co
Lisbon | Paid workspace
Another great option of places to work remotely in Lisbon is Eli&Co, a coworking space with private and modular offices that looks like it just came straight out of Pinterest (btw, KWAN has a Pinterest page now, have you checked it?)
Besides all the workspaces and common areas you can find there, Eli&Co stands out with a Concierge service that caters to your every specific business and personal needs.
Places to work remotely in Oporto
Oporto downtown
Would you like to go norther? Oporto definitely has no shortage of coworks, next we’ll present you our favorites.
Selina Navis
Oporto | Paid workspace
Selina Navis Cowork is one of the best places to work remotely in Oporto! It combines work, beauty, versatility, and fun.
Among all the gorgeous plants you can find neon signs that will take you to places where you can nap, eat or network without being too far from your desk.
It has an open space office that can fit up to 90 people; private offices; a room for events and…
There are even plans for a nightclub.
Who’s in to party a little after work? ????????
Poetry Loft
Oporto | Airbnb
In case you’re a digital nomad and would like to stay in Oporto for a few weeks or months, the Poetry Loft is one of the most recommended Airbnb’s for working travelers, like freelance writers or programmers. It is a cosy, well-lit, decorated space, with great wi-fi and fully stocked with all the appliances you need in your day-to-day life.
It’s located near the Trindade metro station, which means you can take the chance to easily go out and explore the city if you need inspiration.
Typographia-Cowork
Oporto | Paid Workspace
This is another great option among the many places to work remotely in Oporto, located right in the middle of the city. It is an old typography building repurposed for modern remote work. It is the place of choice for many entrepreneurs, freelancers, and programmers, who are looking for a permanent or temporary workspace.
Bird of Passage
Oporto | Free to use
Bird of Passage is a café where you’ll find many students, freelancers, and of course, developers, wanting to work outside of the house and meet new people. They offer a large variety of coffee (you know, to keep you going), tasty food and you can stay as long as you’d like. The internet is great, there are plenty of outlets and there are also some longer tables, in case you need to have an impromptu meeting or work as a group.
Rivoli Café
Oporto | Free to use
Our final choice of places to work remotely in Oporto is a café located on the third floor of the Rivoli Theatre, is great if you need hours of concentration (perfect for writing those never-ending lines of code, for example). The environment is calm and the decoration is minimalistic and there is a lot of natural light coming in. This is a great place to work remotely in Oporto because all you need to do is to order some coffee for fuel and a little snack and you’ll be ready to dive deep into work.
Places to work remotely in the center
Coimbra
We dare you to escape the cities of Lisbon and Oporto and explore the smaller cities of Coimbra and Espinho by staying in a very special type of cowork…
Work Café Santander
Coimbra / Espinho / Lisbon | Free to use
If renting a coworking space is too much for you, maybe working remotely from a coffee shop is a good solution. From all of our recommendations of places to work remotely in Portugal, this might be the most unusual, as this is no ordinary café, you see: Santander is a bank. Yes, Santander came up with the idea of creating a space where you can go check on your finances, grab a snack and also work remotely.
This coffee shop has food, music, spaces set for individual or group work, good wi-fi all over, spaces dedicated for meetings, and comfortable chairs and couches for relaxing. The best part is that you don’t have to pay for any of it (except for the food, this is a coffee shop after all).
Fluxo Coworking
Coimbra | Paid workspace
Fluxo Coworking is one of the best places to work remotely in Portugal out of the big cities like Oporto and Lisbon. It is a fully equipped space where you can work, focus, relax and find everything you need: safe and high-speed internet, a conference room, bar/cafeteria services, printers all over, beautiful and professional installations and it is open 24/7!
So, whether you’re a morning tester or a night owl programmer, you can go in and work when it suits you best. All of this at very competitive prices.
Places to work remotely in the south
Algarve
The weather is better. The beaches are beautiful and nearby. During the summer, the cost towns of Algarve are the best places to work remotely
Faro Avenida: Business Centre
Faro, Algarve | Paid workspace
If you find yourself in Algarve, know that coding during the day and enjoying the beach afterwards is very much possible. For that, we suggest Faro Avenida!
This place offers you private or coworking offices that will pull you right out of the isolation that comes with remote work. At very low prices, you can have a great working space combined with good food, networking, and even some workshops now and then!
Definitely one of the best places to work remotely in Portugal during the summer!
Places to work remotely in the islands
Pico Ruivo do Paul, Madeira
Who wouldn’t love to live for a while in the paradisiac islands of Madeira or Azores? By renting a spot in these coworks you don’t even have to take days off: work and explore the islands for as long as it pleases you.
Madeira Digital Nomads
Ponta do Sol, Madeira | Paid workspace
Perhaps you want a complete change of scenery and a break from working in the city. Then here’s some good news: there’s an amazing place in the isle of Madeira where you can work surrounded by mountains and the ocean instead! Madeira Digital Nomads is a place that welcomes entrepreneurs, programmers, and other remote workers from all areas, where you can work indoors or outdoors with access to great people, food, and internet.
unOffice
Ponta Delgada, Azores | Paid workspace
This was the first coworking place for working remotely that opened in Azores, taking the first steps into innovating remote work in that region. They offer a collaborative and inspirational work environment for you to work on your personal and business plans.
Plus, great networking opportunities, time flexibility and they put a lot of effort into creativity, innovation, and sustainability.
And a bonus tip!
Are you more of a free spirit that enjoys trying out different working spaces? Does the idea of having to check every website, of every different space, for available seats bore you? Well then, we have a solution for you to check ALL the places to work remotely in Portugal: Croissant.
No, not the pastry! It’s a website where you can search for different coworking places next to you and immediately see how many available seats there are. Plus, if you want to be able to check in to those places without a fuss, you can pay Croissant a fee (varying between 19€ and 149€ per month) that allows you to do just that.
You simply choose the price you want to pay depending on your needs, pick the place you want to work at, check-in with the app, show up and set up shop. It’s that easy!
15 places to work remotely in Portugal: final thoughts
Remote work means more flexibility: you can wake up later, you can use a break to do your laundry, and you don’t even have to worry about packing lunch, you can just cook it while working.
However, at home, you tend to get bored, easily distracted and your productivity levels are just not that high.
While the presented places were specially made to help improve your workflow, and at the same time inspiring you and allowing you to meet freelancers and developers like yourself.
Getting to know other developers is actually a good way to start improving your communication skills – is that something you feel like you could get better at? We wrote an article called Communication Skills in the IT industry: 5 tips to Help you Become a Rockstar Developer, take a look!
So, why not try one (or several) of these places to work remotely in Portugal? Give it a go and let us know about your experience!